Vatican says pope's health improving, He is eating now, but it is unclear if he will give his Sunday address from the hospital

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

VATICAN CITY - Pope John Paul II's health continues to improve andhe has begun eating, the Vatican said Friday, but it would not say ifthe pope would give his weekly Sunday address from the hospital,where he's being treated for the flu and respiratory troubles.

A papal spokesman said tests confirmed that the 84-year-old pope'slatest health crisis had stabilized, and that there was a "favorableevolution" of the breathing troubles he suffered earlier in the week.

"The state of health of the Holy Father has improved," JoaquinNavarro-Valls told reporters, reading from a brief Vatican medicalbulletin.

It was unclear when the pope began eating. Navarro-Valls, whorefused to elaborate on virtually any point of the health bulletin,said only: "Certainly today, maybe yesterday evening, but certainlytoday."

Underscoring the sense that the frail pontiff was not in immediatedanger, Navarro-Valls said the Holy See would not issue anothermedical update until Monday.

But he would not confirm that John Paul would give his weeklyaddress via an audio hookup from his papal suite at Rome's GemelliPolytechnic hospital rather than from his usual perch in a windowhigh above St. Peter's Square.

"It's very important to him and something he does not want tomiss," Navarro-Valls said.

Vatican Radio said John Paul spent a third restful night at thehospital, but said the pope canceled a Friday meeting with JosepBorrell, the president of the European Parliament.

The pope's age and Parkinson's disease make his flu moredangerous, and doctors were watching him closely for any signs ofcomplications.

The Rev. Federico Lombardi, who heads Vatican radio, told Italianstate broadcaster RAI in an interview Friday: "The pope has shown agreat courage in sickness, in old age, and we can say, going towarddeath."

On Thursday, Navarro-Valls suggested the pope might spend up to aweek at the clinic's tightly guarded papal suite, telling reporters,"When I've had the flu, it lasts seven days."

Since the pope fell ill, good wishes have poured in from aroundthe world - even from the Turkish gunman who shot the pope in abotched assassination attempt in St. Peter's Square in 1981. MehmetAli Agca's handwritten note from prison wished the pope "a speedyrecovery."

The Islamic Cultural Center of Italy sent a note to the pope onFriday relaying "our most ardent and sincere wishes for a speedy andcomplete recovery that can permit you to carry on the preciousmission of peace, brotherhood and dialogue."

The assassination attempt was the first major health crisis forthe pontiff, once a sportsman fond of skiing and hiking. He suffersfrom crippling hip and knee ailments as well as Parkinson's, whichhave left him in frail health for years.

The pontiff was rushed by ambulance to Gemelli late Tuesday aftersuffering what the Vatican called an inflamed windpipe and spasms ofthe larynx, or voice box, which had made it difficult for him tobreathe.

John Paul has for some time been cutting back on his activities,letting aides read his speeches or represent him at events abroad.Still, before coming down with the flu he had not missed a scheduledaudience in 16 months, despite his ailments.

"We all are praying for him," said German Cardinal Karl Lehmann,attending a Mass at Rome's Saint John Lateran basilica. "He is agreat pope because also his suffering is a message."